A diary of our journey as new parents to Emma, adopted from Ukraine in July 2008

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Road Trippin'

Since getting a truck a few months ago, we've discovered a new love for road trips. I don't know exactly why...I've never really liked them before. Maybe it's because it's a really good, versatile family truck and we're able to bring along our bikes wherever we go? Or maybe it's because every time we fly, I dislike it more and more each time? Who knows? At any rate, we're liking it right now and have been trying to squeeze some in over the summer when we have time.

For the Heritage Day long weekend, we had no plans. However, when we woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning, Terry and I both had the itch for a road trip. I quickly jumped online to try and find us a place to stay in one of Alberta's hot spots. I came to the realization that long weekend road trips should be planned in advance. Every hotel, motel, cabin and any other accomadation you could think of was booked up in Banff, Lake Louise, Canmore and Jasper. I particularly wanted to go to Jasper, since Terry and I hadn't been there since we were married (12 years ago). So after seeing everything was booked up online, I started phoning each place one by one, hoping there would be a cancellation. I was turned down time after time until I hit one of the last listings. They had a cancellation! Without hesitation I booked it.

We quickly packed our gear and threw our bikes in the truck, stopped for slurpees (required for every road trip) and we were on our way. It was a lovely four hour drive and it was only till we were almost there that Emma started to ask, "Are we there yet?"

We were a little apprehensive about the cabin we had booked as we have done this before and ended up in places that are very similar to Ukrainian accomadations...not our idea of a good time. However, I think we ended up with much more than we even expected. The cabins were very rustic, but extremely clean. We also had separate rooms which we weren't expecting. Privacy is always nice when you have kids in tow. Emma was extremely excited about our "sleepover" accomadations and could barely sit through supper because she was eager to get back to her room and go to bed!50390152037705805We had an awesome time in Jasper, shopping in the town, going up the tramway to the top of Whistler Mountain, and riding the bike trails around some beautiful lakes.

Last weekend we took a shorter road trip to the Wetaskiwin Air show, only a half hour away. Again the truck came in handy as we parked in a field, rather than paying admission to get into the show. We brought along some lawn chairs to set up in the box of the truck and enjoyed a picnic lunch.

I'm really hoping we can squeeze in one more road trip before Emma heads back to school in a few weeks. We'll have to see what happens!

Recently we celebrated "gotcha day" which is the anniversary of the three of us officially becoming a family, July 28. We didn't really go gung ho, just went our for ice cream. It's more a celebration for Terry and I, because in Emma's mind, she's been a part of our family forever. She doesn't seem to have any memories of the adoption or her life in Ukraine, probably due to her mental delays. We explained to her why we're celebrating and will continue to do so every year. Maybe one day she'll understand just how special the day is. Yesterday marked the anniversary of Emma coming into Canada. I can't believe it's been two years already!

A few weeks ago Emma was seen by the local pediatric developmental specialists. It was a LONG two hour meeting going over Emma's delays and history. Again, we've run into frustrations not knowing the answers to so many of the questions we're asked because we know so little about Emma's past, and she's not able to shed any light on the subject either. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting out of this meeting, but not much happened. They just confirmed that, yes, Emma has severe mental delays and that we've done a great job advocating for her to get her into a new school with extra help. They don't want to do much now until the fall and see how Emma adjusts to her new school situation.

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About Me

Welcome to our family blog. It is a diary of our journey to Ukraine to adopt our precious daughter, Emma, and our learning experiences since arriving home in August of 2008. Our diary begins on June 8, 2008, nine days before we left for Ukraine. If you'd like to start at the beginning, just scroll down to the archives and click on 2008. You will have to scroll down to the bottom of each page and click on "older posts" until you reach the first post. Enjoy!